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Wednesday, November 30, 2011

Hello beauties! This is another circle lens review on GEO Nudy Series in brown.

For this particular post I braided my side bangs and pinned them to the side and curled my hair too to give that ulzzang look. Makeup is also done lightly here so you would see the effect of the circle lens.

Circle lenses come in different color and effects that makes the eyes appear larger. GEO Nudy Circle Lens is quite different from the previous circle lenses that I reviewed (OL/Wing and Fresh) because even if they do have the same size, which is 14mm diameter, this particular lens, when worn, makes the pupil appear smaller and the iris bigger. Yes, it still gives a bigger eye effect but compared to the other lenses where there is obvious pupil dilation, this seem a little bit smaller.

Upon close observation of the eyes, this looks more two-toned, a light brown and gray color combination than just a honey brown with the Fresh brown series. At first, I really couldn't distinguish the Fresh brown from the Nudy brown because they look so similar but I noticed the difference after taking a picture of them. The Fresh circle lens had thin "wings" extending from the outer rim inwards almost meeting the center "wings." In Nudy circle lens, the "wings" are short. Also, the Nudy color is lighter than the Fresh; even if they are both in brown they clearly have different hues.

I still have mixed feelings about this particular GEO circle lens series. I don't hate it but I don't love it either. There are times when I'm looking at myself in the mirror wearing this particular pair of lenses that I really adore the final look and there are times where I think that I look weird and blank. I give this a rating of 7/10.

And before I forget, the Nudy series reminds me of Freshlook colored contact lenses. The final look it gives is really very similar. Maybe I would make a post on that one for comparison someday. :)

Tuesday, November 29, 2011

Here I am with another circle lens review, this time featuring GEO Fresh Circle Lens in brown.

I've always been partial to gray and brown colored circle lens because I think those color suit me the best. This circle lens has 14mm in diameter but it doesn't really give me a bigger eye effect unlike other circle lenses of the same size. However, I find that this doesn't particularly matter to me because it still made my overall look really good.

This particular lens should appear darker from afar and lighter in close proximity of the person wearing it, however I find it quite the opposite in my case. As you can see in my picture above, it the color appears lighter and in the bottom, close up picture, it appears darker. Whatever the case may be, this adds a very warm and subtle enhancement for my eye. My eyes are naturally brown and I think this enhances my natural eye color which is brown. I think this is the most natural brown circle lens that I have ever encountered.

I can never reiterate how comfortable circle lenses are and I usually wear them for 8 hours or more. My eyes are not particularly sensitive so I have no problem wearing contact lenses.

I'll give this a 9/10 rating mainly because it remains true to its name: Fresh. The look this gives with little or no makeup at all is really fresh and vibrant and oozing with life.

Monday, November 28, 2011

I adore circle lenses! In fact, I seem to be addicted to wearing them that it has replaced my conventional contact lenses for more than 2 years. I know it should not replace the conventional ones but I had several problems with them and with circle lenses, I have not experienced any trouble at all (except ripping two of them after a really really long time use). I have tried GEO Angel Circle Lenses among others and it's still my favorite circle lens by far (and I will rave all about it in the next review).

I love the dolly eyed look but I opt for the 14mm in diameter lenses as opposed to the bigger ones, though the bigger ones are really very pretty especially for my eye shape. I think that the 14mm diameter circle lenses are just the perfect size if you want a slightly bigger eye that is noticeable but not overly so. Anyway, I ordered from Angelcontacts 6 pairs of GEO lenses to replace my old ones. I have ordered Angel brown, gray and blue, along with OL/Wing gray, Nudy brown and Fresh brown. All of which has a power of -4.00. Yes, I have a really bad eyesight.

What I like most about circle lenses, aside from giving me that bigger eye effect, is that it's thinner than the conventional ones so its very comfortable for the eye. For this particular lens, the OL gray, the colors are really very light but very visible. It adds a very nice touch to my look. I believe that even with simple or no makeup at all, this lens would really look good. However, this lens wouldn't really give you that super big dolly-eyed look because its only 14mm in diameter and the outer rim is a not really as black as I supposedly wanted and the blacker the outer rim is, the bigger eyes it will give the wearer.

The OL/Wing series circle lenses are very subtle and delicate. It gives the wearer a very misty look that reminds me of Puss in Boots. :) I give this lens an overall rating of 8/10 for its comfort, visibility and for the doe-like final look, but there's something in it that I really don't dig and I think that's because of the light rim. It's just not perfect for me.

Sunday, November 27, 2011

We were down at Connecticut for Thanks giving and I did a bit of Black Friday shopping with my mom and cousin, Agnes, and I got some few things. The mall was packed with Black Friday shoppers and I really don't like standing in line for too long so I just got some irresistible items.

American Eagle had 40% off on all their items and I snatched up this cream colored hoodie and black V-neck jumper. They are so perfect for layering and for the winter. AE is as packed as all of the stores in the mall but thankfully they have a lot of cashiers and sales personnel that made the purchase faster than it should have been.

Next on the must-go store is of course, my favorite, Sephora. I purchased the red Sephora lash curler because I really have to dispose my old one. Come to think of it, I should have bought the Urban Decay Revolution Lash Curler for only $2 more - I thought of it just now. Anyway, another item on my shopping list was the NARS blush in Torrid that I have been eyeing for quite a while now but I ended up getting Deep Throat instead because sadly, Torrid was out of stock. I was so bummed out but I was determined to purchase a NARS blush so I went for Deep Throat, which is really amazing too!

Last stop for shopping was Urban Outfitters. I love how they have a wide array of fashion, beauty and even home items they have and I purposely went there for makeup steals like NYX and e.l.f. Usually, I can find both online and on select stores. NYX is available at Ulta and e.l.f. at Target, sadly, I don't have any of that store near me so I could only get select items at Urban Outfitters. I purchased the Stila Lip Glaze set of 10 for only $25, an e.l.f. beauty book and a NYX eyeliner in white. My cousin offered to buy me Rae Morris's Beautiful Eyes book which I absolutely adore.

I know my Black Friday shopping was not that much but I'm happy with all of them. I'm really avoiding spending a lot of money since I'll be leaving for a family vacation to St. Thomas, Virgin Islands in two weeks.

Upon arriving home from Connecticut, I was greeted by my most awaited package, the 6 pairs of circle lenses from Angelcontacts that I ordered more than 2 weeks ago. I ordered it from Canada and for some reason it was delivered later than usual. When I contacted the site the moderators were very helpful and considerate and tracked my package for me.

I have been using GEO Angel contact lenses for more than a year and the gray and brown colored ones are my favorite. I disposed my old contacts now and replace them with this new ones. I'll make a separate review on all of them next time. :)

Tuesday, November 22, 2011

I have quite a handful of Estee Lauder Pure Color lipsticks and if I haven't given away some of them to my friends, this collection would amount to 15-20 shades instead of just 10 that is shown here. I never bought Estee Lauder products for myself but 4-0-50% of my makeup collection consists of this particular brand. My mom and aunt tend to give me Estee Lauder sets and collections.

I always seemed to think that EL is more of an older generation brand when I received my first set of an EL collection but I changed my thoughts especially after playing with the makeup particularly the lipsticks. I love how rich, creamy and smooth the lipsticks are and how they could coat even the ridges of my lips. I've tried a lot of lipsticks and I could not name a single other brand that could come as close to this (even MAC and Wet n Wild, well perhaps Clinique High Impact Lipsticks). It is very moisturizing and long lasting too.

So as you can see above, I have different kinds of packaging. The blue packaging is the oldest packaging among the three. I can't remember however, which of the gold packaging came first; they are both from a holiday collection but I can't remember what year. The packaging on the right side looks similar to L'oreal and I think that current Estee Lauder packaging and the middle gold packaging looks best.

Now let's go to swatches of the lip colors. Let's start with my oldest lip shades. I have Pinkberry, Cafe Latte, and Fig with the old, blue packaging. Pinkberry is a cool pink with a plum undertone, Cafe Latte is a brown neutral shade, lastly, Fig is a nice red with a brown, warm undertone.

The next collection consists of Pink Parfait, Bois de Rose and Tiger Eye. Pink Parfait and Tiger Eye are shimmer lip colors. Pink Parfait looks like a Barbie-colored pink in the tube but once applied, the pink is overpowered by the silver shimmers that it contains. Tiger Eye and Cafe Latte is almost similar in color however the former has a lot of rose gold/coppery shimmer than the latter but is nicer and more wearable than Pink Parfait. I actually think that Tiger Eye is a nice holiday lip color if you have a smokey eye. Bois de Rose is a nice lip color that is very similar to Rose Tea but only a hint darker.

See here that Rose Tea is a tinge lighter than Bois de Rose from the other collection. I actually use them both interchangeably when I don't know what lip color to wear. They are one of my go-to lip shades. Hazelnut Creme is a warm brown color and Crystal Honey is a cool light brown with gold frosting. This is actually a lighter version of Tiger Eye without the obvious glitters. Marashchino on the other hand is a bright red color.

My favorite Estee Lauder lip color would be Rose Tea and for my perfect red lips would be Maraschino.

The first shade is 909D Coral-ine which is a bright coral color with more red in it. I find that this shade of coral really suits me best since it gives my face such a vibrant and fresh look. The next shade picked out is 903C in Just Peachy. It is a nice peachy pink color that is just a perfect go-to lipstick for any makeup look. The last one is a pale Barbie pink color, 901B Think Pink, that reminds me of Nicki Minaj.

Maybelline Eye Studio Black Liner - line the upper lash line as close to the lashes as possible, line the outer half of the lower lash line as well and tightline both upper and lower inner lash lines as well; with a smudge brush, smudge the black eyeliner drawn on the upper and lower lash lines.

NYX Shadow in Africa - Using a large shadow brush, pack on the color starting from the outer corner of your eye working inward (the inner part should be lighter in color). Bring it as high as you want the color to show - don't be scared about the vibrance of the color ^^). Blend the harsh lines with a fluffy blending brush.

NYX Shadow in Tropical- using a regular shadow brush pack place the color in the inner corner of the eye dragging it upward and inward to blend with the Africa.Blend the harsh lines with a fluffy blending brush. Using the tip of the shadow brush, place the color on the inner half of the lower lid too.

NYX Shadow in Gypsy - using a pencil brush, pat the shadow onto the lid on top of the smudged eyeliner. Work back and forth slowly until blended and had created a nice smokey gradient into the Africa. Lightly, bring the color to the outer corner of the eye and blend as well creating a nice smokey effect.

NYX Shadow in Sensual and Sahara - with a blending brush, use Sensual as brow bone highlight, top with Sahara. Blend well with the shadow colors on the crease.

This is another review that I have been meaning to do for a long time.

There's just something about the mixture of fresh, sweet, fragrant, minty, and a bit of soapy scent whenever I pass by a LUSH store that always excite me and soothe me. I haven't used a lot of their products but Breath of Fresh Air is a product that I absolutely love.

Breath of Fresh Air is a toner that revitalizes the skin. Its main ingredients are aloe, seaweed and fresh sea water that softens and rehydrates the face. Even the scent that this toner gives off is like the sea. A spray from this toner shifts me to a spot at a dock at the beach with a nice cool breeze and with the waves slapping against the rocks, spraying some sea water across my face, giving it a nice, refreshing feeling. It gives me a burst of energy once I feel it sprayed over my face.

I especially recommend this during hot weather where you feel that your face is all hot and dry. It really gives you a soothing feeling. I don't only use this to rejuvenate my skin in the middle of the day but I use it too in my daily skin care routine. A toner is especially made to balance out the skin's pH level especially after washing. I always use it after I cleanse my face in the evening before I put on my favorite moisturizer. Whenever I had on heavy makeup during the day I would wet a cotton pad with the toner and swipe it all over my face to ensure that no remaining makeup is left on my face.

This is an amazing product that you should try. :)

Note: This is my honest review about the product based on my experience.

I've been postponing this review for a while now and I should've done this when my palettes are newer and cleaner but oh well... enough for excuses and on to the review! :)

I got two of the Color Icon Trio - Walking on Eggshells & Silent Treatment - and two of the Color Icon Palette with 6 shadows - Pride & Vanity.

In general, I am very impressed with the Wet n Wild eyeshadows. They are very pigmented, soft and very blendable. For a drugstore brand that's very cheap the quality is better than expected. I could not be more happy with Wet n Wild.

For the trios, the colors are very well put together. Though I picked the more neutral shades, I saw the other palettes and they look amazing. The trios have shimmery/frosty shadows while the other palettes with 6 shadows have 3 matte shadows and 3 frosty shadows that can go from day to night.

The Wet n Wild trios - Walking on Eggshells and Silent Treatment are my go to shadows and as you can see in the photos above they are used a lot! I think I'm going to go get the other palettes and a back up of this two trios.

Tuesday, November 15, 2011

Ulzzang - it means best face in Korean. There are lots of meaning to the word but for me, the way to compare or differentiate the Korean ulzzang from the Japanese gyaru is the makeup (obviously for the girls).

You see, a usual ulzzang look are comprised of circle lenses, winged liners, mascara, slightly tinted lips and really smooth and bright faces. The gyaru look shares the smooth and bright faces along with stunning dolly circle lenses, however the girls are more big on false lashes, mascara and pink glossy lips and slightly flushed cheeks.

I used to do the basic ulzzang makeup look as my everyday makeup but I haven't been putting it on recently so I decided to give it a go today however I really couldn't look quite those Korean pretty faces. I kinda give up on looking like them! haha :) I think, even with the Asian eye shape, the circle lens, and the makeup, I lack the bright complexion that they have that gives them that fresh and pretty look.

Anyway, here's my take on an ulzzang look.

PS: The first photo was taken back in April and I honestly think I look better and more "ulzzang" in that one than I do now. What do you think?

Thursday, November 3, 2011

I opted to do a review for this wonderful lipsticks that I got from the drugstore, the Wet n Wild Mega Last Lip Color.

I am more of an eye person rather than lip person so I'm huge on eyeshadows than lipsticks and other lip products (except perhaps a lip balm) but lately I have been using lipsticks and buying quite a lot of lipsticks. My interest in Wet n Wild products have grown since I purchased a few of the Color Icon Palettes (which I will also do a review on) and since a lot of beauty bloggers have highly spoken of this product too so I thought that it will be nice to try this brand's lippie.

The Wet n Wild Mega Last Lip Color boasts of a 4-hour staying power with a semi-matte to creme finish as well as a rich and velvety color and application. Indeed upon use, the product has proven true to its description. This product retails at $3-4 at the drugstore.

I bought the first shade which is 917B Cinnamon Spice, a vampy red color, a few days ago and purchased the two other lip shades yesterday. The other two shades I picked up was 902C Bare It All, a nude shade with a peachy tone, and 905D Smokin' Hot Pink, a bright fuschia pink. I was surprisingly satisfied with the product.

The moment I first applied the lipstick I noticed the moisturizing formula and the highly pigmented color application. It had smoothed and coated my lip ridges/wrinkles evenly. The lipstick is not long-lasting but it did make it through my 4-hour experiment. It stayed on like how I applied it for 2 hours and afterwards it faded a little bit but there was still some color on my lips after 4 hours.

The only con that I have found for this product is its packaging. True, it does look good but the packaging is flimsy and I'm quite afraid I might break the case if I drop it hard or something. Whenever I take out the cover and try to twist the product up I hear rattling sounds. Also, the tube doesn't have it's name written on the bottom but only the shade number. The shade name is written on the plastic film tag that you peel from the cap.

Aside from these complaints it is a great lipstick that is quite a nice bargain for its price. I highly recommend this product. I'm not bashing MAC lippies here but compared to my MAC lipsticks I'm preferring the Wet N Wild lip colors for their richness and smoothness plus their cheap price. :)

Wednesday, November 2, 2011

Why Asian? Well, first and foremost I am an Asian myself and having an Asian eye shape means applying eye makeup in a slightly different way. Not all makeup tutorials in Youtube would give you a flattering look once you copy it and knowing that these beauty bloggers have similar eye shapes as mine makes me comfortable in recreating their makeup looks that also look flattering with me. Another reason for me to name the top Asian beauty blogs that I follow is that because there are not a lot of them that I follow. I only follow a handful so they're much easier to list down and I follow perhaps twice or thrice as many beauty blogs there is from these blogs that I will list down.

The first blog that I really have to mention is BubzBeauty. She is perhaps my first Youtube influence. If I could remember correctly, it was a Park Bom makeup look that I first watched from her channel, the rest was history after that.

I mostly like her home remedies and DIY beauty tutorials, jolly personality and honest opinions. Do check out her Beautiful Skin Remedy using oatmeal. I highly recommend this and I went for 2 months straight using just oatmeal as my facial cleanser and it did amazing things to my skin. Right now I use the oatmeal facial cleanser thrice a week switching it up with my Neutrogena Oil-Free Acne Wash Redness Soothing Gentle Scrub.

Next blog is Xteeener. She has grown so much from her first video in Youtube and along with Bubz, she is one of the first beauty YT beauty guru/blogger I subscribed to. I like her for her simple style, easy tutorials and the feeling that she talks directly to you when she's talking in a video.

Jen of Frm Head To Toe is a Korean-American and I love her for her inspired looks. Her recreations are beautiful that you could almost mistake her for the person she is copying the makeup look from. Her K-Pop inspired tutorials are so good - HyunA, 2NE1, BoA, and IU are just some of those recreations.

Another Korean-American that I'm loving is Holly Ann-Aeree. Her simple, 1-2-3 smokey looks, monthly hits & misses and Jewelmint faves and giveaways are my absolute love, though I have never won anything from her giveaways or from any beauty giveaways for that matter, but you girls could try your luck too! :)

Rae, who specializes in both brief and in-depth product reviews is the person to follow if you want to learn more about the products you want to try. Check outThe RAEviewer to clue you in on what's hot and what's not for their price.

Fashion, beauty, photography and a beautiful Japanese face is Mint of Hystericmint and I am a fan. I first saw her videos at Beautylish and I was mesmerized by how she did her video editing and stumbling upon her blog was like happylandia for me. Her photography and editing skills are great, not to mention her love of makeup, fashion and circle lenses. I was at awe and I still am.

Fashion is her passion and for a petite girl, she looks like she was born to be in a runway and magazine model. Natalie Liao is La Vagabond Dame. Even if she is younger than me I look up to her for her great style and confidence in wearing the clothes she wears. I might not be able to dress up like her all the time but looking at her pictures sparks up my creativity as well as imagination.

Suzi is a fashion designer and blogger of StyleSuzi. Her love for high-heeled shoes and everything fashion makes me drool. She also has frequent giveaways and monthly favorites that I like to watch. Check out her blog for behind-the-scenes of fashion events, beauty finds, reviews, outfit of the days, and whatnots.

The last blog is my latest addiction brought to my attention by my boyfriend's sister. Roseanne of Roseannetangrs travels back and forth Singapore and Australia giving her a wide selection of products to try. Browsing through her site, she has a good variety of recommendation and faves from both high-end to drugstore products. I have similar views and opinions of her product reviews and I am glad that I have come across this vocal and opinionated beauty blogger.